far apart and they're both comfortable digging in their heels and saying we'll see what happen adam: dan henninger was on the varney show this morning. do you think we'll hit recession if we go over the cliff. probably not. we'll muddle along. do you want to counter your boss? >> he would no more than i do about this. i think whether it is january 1 or a few days later that's not the issue. it is does the united states take a turn toward fiscal sanity in terms of restraining spending while allowing the economy to grow and not having a tax policy that hurts it. so the deal could come at any time. if you want to be optimistic i think republicans are realizing how much leverage they have with the sequester. these are automatic spending cuts. the obama doesn't want them. this is leverage point for republicans. adam: you're an economist. we're journalists and we're only good for free drinks. are we going over the cliff? >> i think it is undeniable the economy falls into recession if we do go over the fiscal cliff. even chairman bernanke was very clear on this point telling everyone if the eco